


Lay My Curses Out To Rest, Make A Mercy Out Of Me

by spacetrashpile



Category: Blaseball (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Panic Attacks, The Shadows, also there's like a line and a half of beck/alaynabella in here because i love them, and lately ive been going bonkers about her brief shadows trip, and then waking up in seatle, but i think adjusting to the shadows is TERRIFYING for the first few hours, but its not enough that im gonna tag it or beck, i dont have a ton of thoughts about shadow boston tbh, i think about alaynabella everyday can you tell, same with adjusting out of it after a while, set during the season 12 election, so bassically this is layna being shoved into the shadows and bareing the worst brunt of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29972139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacetrashpile/pseuds/spacetrashpile
Summary: Foreshadow: The Flowers chose to bring Zesty Yaboi forth from the shadows, via a foreshadow swap with Alaynabella Hollywood.Exchange: The Flowers targeted Nagomi McDaniel for an exchange, opting to send back Alaynabella Hollywood.Or, Alaynabella Hollywood’s momentary trip to the Shadows.
Kudos: 9





	Lay My Curses Out To Rest, Make A Mercy Out Of Me

**Author's Note:**

> Brief CW for panic attacks and a lot of overwhelming terror for Layna, in this one.

The Elections don’t often bring much for the Flowers. Something about a bad record getting the fans less money for votes that Layna doesn’t pay enough attention to means the Flowers usually don’t receive many blessings, if any. But this season is different. They’ve had time away, and now the Election has a brand new skin. A brand new, guaranteed will, feature. But it’s probably nothing.

Alaynabella is half paying attention to the Election results coming through her TV, busy putting away dishes in the kitchen of the small apartment they share with Beck. Well,  _ shared _ , before they had to get back to playing and Beck had to go back to Miami. The announcer finishes with the Spies’ results, and she knows instinctively the Flowers are up next. Layna doesn’t pause to listen closer. If it’s anything particularly important she knows Margo will call a team meeting or Gloria will be barrelling down their door in 10 minutes to discuss the implications of the results with them.

Then, Layna hears her name. They hear her name, and Shadows, in the same sentence, and she freezes. The moment she hears the words, static starts creeping into their ears and their vision, and she cannot move. Alaynabella barely registers the name of the new player replacing her, something with a Z? But that’s not important, what’s important is the dark liquid slowly encroaching in her peripheral vision, the static filling their ears and their brain, and the pure, paralyzing fear flowing through her veins. Alaynabella does not know the Shadows, does not know where Shadowed Flowers go, does not know what happens to them once they are there, but she is going to learn.

The darkness encloses Layna, a pure and unending sea of black. They’d heard talk about some Shadows being places, full, other cities where the players lived. It seems that is not true of Boston. Layna cannot see, though they’re unsure there would be anything to see if she could. The darkness feels almost unreal, but the crushing weight on her back is a stark reminder that it is very real, and that it is their home for the foreseeable future. The static sounds are drowning out any other thoughts Layna might have, all she can hear and feel and taste is static and darkness. She curls in on herself, clutching their head close to their chest and closing their eyes tight, though it brings no respite from the overbearing darkness. Alaynabella can barely feel their own hands in their hair or their knees curling close to their chest. They can’t feel if they’re curled in a ball on the floor or floating through a disembodied space. The static is horrible. It’s all there is, it sticks in her throat and terrifies her. Layna thinks they might be hyperventilating, but they’re not sure if they’re even breathing. The static and something else, the Shadows, she supposes, are filling their lungs and their nose and their mouth and every part of her that it can make it’s way into.

Layna curls into herself tighter, despite the lack of everything. They feel like they have to open her eyes, if she doesn’t open her eyes it will never change, it will always be dark and static and overbearing and awful, but if they open their eyes they will have to look at the Shadows, and she does not want to see it. Layna remains in this position, mentally fighting her own fear, trying to overcome it to open her  _ goddamn eyes _ , to confront their new position, but they can’t. All they can see is darkness and all they can hear is static for god knows how long and it’s far too horrifying- and then there is a small gasp that breaks through the static beside her, and then a few words. 

_ “Exchange- Nagmoi McDaniel- Hollywood- Garages-” _

Layna still isn’t thinking straight enough to put together what the fuck that means, but it’s a blessing in it’s own right, it’s something other than the glitching static that occupies the rest of their brain space. But soon, the static quiets, it is still present, but it isn’t an overbearing fear and noise that Alaynabella can feel in every part of her. They can feel parts of their hands again, they are breathing, not steadily, but they’re breathing, and she can feel involuntary tears flowing down her cheeks. But still, she cannot open her eyes.

It’s still dark and Layna is still curling in on herself further when they start to feel something else. Cold on their arm and legs, some floor, but not the tile of her kitchen. Linoleum, maybe? And then there’s a hand shaking her shoulder, and Alaynabella snaps up. The bright lights are a shock, and Layna barely contains a yelp at the hand and the sudden light. She scrambles backwards a bit and hears a voice.

“Hey! Hey, you’re okay, you’re in Seattle, uh, a lot happened in between Boston’s votes.”

When Layna’s eyes finally adjust to the light, she’s staring into the face of a Garages player, Teddy, they think is his name? He offers a hand to hoist them up, and she takes it gratefully. His grip on her hand is tight, and she stumbles a bit as he pulls them back up onto solid ground. The Garages are all staring at her, half standing, half sitting on the couch or the floor.

“Uh, what happened?” Alaynabella asks, suddenly much more conscious of the tears on her face and the way her hair must look after digging her hands into it. 

“Exchange shenanigans, basically. You got shadowed for a different batter and then the Flowers plundered Nagmoi, just so happens that the player who got swapped was you. So now you’re with us and Nagmoi is in Boston’s Shadows.”

Alaynabella gets another look at her new team, and what she guesses is the Big Garage. “Shit. Is she… is she gonna be okay? Boston Shadows… well, they suck, turns out.”

“Nagomi has time to adjust. You were there for… what, 10, 20 minutes? There was no time to get used to being in there for you. Lenny had a rough time for the first few hours coming out of the Shadows to here, I imagine the same is true of going in. Especially when no one’s been in or out of Boston’s shadows before you to tell you what it would be like. If you need to sit or anything, take a minute, don’t worry about it.”

Teddy motions to the couch and Paula gets up to give her a seat. Alaynabella sinks into it, still trying to get the feeling back in all her fingers and toes. She can still feel the team’s eyes on her; the room is silent. She assumes they’re waiting for her to say something. Maybe tell them she’s okay? Though she’d rather not start off their career in Seattle by lying to everyone.

“Right, um, this probably isn’t what you guys were planning for, huh? And sorry to say it but I am no Nagomi McDaniel. I used to be alright but now… I won’t be winning you any games, let’s just say that.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it, kid,” Teddy says, clapping them on the shoulder. Alaynabella jolts a bit at the sudden contact and the small zap of static electricity she feels in her shoulder. “Maybe we didn’t expect you, but we’re glad to have you. Welcome to the Garages, Alaynabella.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Curses by The Crane Wives! Come yell with me about Layna on caligulalotus on tumblr. I'm always here to talk about Alaynabella.


End file.
